Office forgoes holiday cards to help strangers in need

Sometime in mid-November, a woman stopped by the Times Herald-Record's People for People office and handed the fund's executive director an envelope of money.

Lisa Ramirez

Sometime in mid-November, a woman stopped by the Times Herald-Record's People for People office and handed the fund's executive director an envelope of money.

Most of the bills were small, mostly singles and fives. But all together it amounted to a nice, tidy sum — enough to cover a utility bill, or maybe a car payment for a local person facing an unexpected financial emergency.

The donation was from the employees of the Hudson Valley Developmental Disabilities Service Office in Middletown, a group of about 25 managers, secretaries, supervisors, nurses and others who each year collect a donation for People for People.

Staffers there have "devoted their lives to helping other people," said Bob Miller, a supervisor. The agency, he explained, runs group homes for developmentally disabled adults in Orange County. "I like to say that the people I work with here have a calling. And helping others is part of their character."

Giving to the People for People Fund has become part of the office's holiday tradition and something they do in lieu of exchanging Christmas cards and office gifts.

"You spend money on cards and stuff and they look pretty. But at the end of the season, into the trash or the recycling bin they go," Miller said.

The group chose People for People because they like that it's local, staffed by volunteers and has a terrific reputation of ensuring that donations go back out to the community, helping a family or individual through a one-time financial emergency that could not have been predicted.

"We work for the government, and the government has a lot of rules and regulations, which is understandable," Miller said. "(People for People) is a refreshingly direct way to give assistance when somebody needs help right away. We also like that we know that donations aren't going to be misused or used to pay for a lot of administration."

And People for People, he said, does something more.

"I suspect it's more than just offering a solution to someone in financial trouble," he said.

"When we help one another, it reminds us that the world isn't a terrible place. There are good people."